Bullies Use Teen with Cerebral Palsy as Human Bridge Over Freezing Stream

WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:

A bullying incident involving a disabled teen in a school in Nova Scotia, Canada became the center of a scandal that angered the public.

Communications Officer Michelle MacLeod assured the community that the matter is being handled seriously by the school and investigated by police.

Brett, the bullied boy forgave his bullies but pleaded that bullying should be stopped.

A video of a boy who was used as a human bridge by bullies to cross a freezing stream in a school in Nova Scotia, Canada, became the subject of a bullying scandal that sparked outrage from the community.

During a lunch break at Glace Bay High School, classmates of 14-year old Brett Corbet dared him to lay face-down in a shallow stream or else he will be punched.

“If you don’t get in I’m going to effin punch you, get on your effin’ stomach,” threatened his classmates.

“I was freezing and no one tried to help me,” Corbett told Global News. He said a girl literally walked on his back while saying to him, “Could you get down please, I don’t want to get wet.”

Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education communications officer Michelle MacLeod told the Chronicle Herald that the matter is “seriously” being taken by the school. The Cape Breton Regional Police are also involved in the investigation of the incident.

In a statement, MCleod said: This type of behavior will not be tolerated and is not one that the School and the Centre for Education is proud of. Both the school administration and regional office are presently investigating the incident in accordance with the School Code of Conduct policy.

MacLeod also added that as part of their efforts to continue educating students, they will be working with school administration to hasten current education in relation to the importance of respectful and responsible relationships.

So far, Macleod has not mentioned whether any of the students have been reprimanded over the incident.

On November 13, fifty fellow students and community members assembled outside the school to show support for Corbet. While Corbet said that he already accepted the apologies from several of the students who bullied him, more than ever, he wants bullying to stop.

Describing how proud she is of her son forgiving his bullies, Brett’s mother Terri McEachern said, “Children with disabilities have the most amazing gifts in the world. They don’t see bad in anyone. They see so much good in everybody. This is his mindset.”

As told to CBC, Corbett said: “When I get back to school, it better change. No kids getting bullied, and if they do, I want people to stick up for them.”